The Rise of Online Betting

Infographic: The Incredible Rise of Online Betting

It all started on the paradise island of Antigua, when a law was passed permitting offshore licenses for sports betting operators. Fast forward 20+ years, and the likes of Coral, Betfair and William Hill are household names, creating a market equal to the GDP of Costa Rica!

As for the reach the phenomenon now enjoys, one need look no further than the fact that North Korea has successfully cornered the illegal online betting market. However, while the pastime is popular everywhere from Neath to Nagoya, the iGaming scene continues to be dominated by the United States where the one phenomenon now rubs shoulders with two other online sensations – eSports and Daily Fantasy Sports.

So prevalent is online betting these days that it is a component of most every gambling news story. Even if it isn’t at the heart of a particular issue, you can rest assured that, at some point in the near future, the implications of a matter will either shape or be shaped by iGaming.

And while its ubiquitousness is impressive, it palls next to the hardiness of the business. Online betting’s survived all manner of misfortunes from the DotCom bubble to the global recession. Having weathered catastrophes of this magnitude, it’s little wonder industry insiders are so confident that the legal pressures cyber wagering currently faces in the US – especially in connection with eSports and DFS – should be overcome sooner rather than later.

Not that betting has fully embraced a cyber model. Way back in the dim and distant past – the year 2000, to be precise – Betfair was utterly convinced that land-based bookmakers would have gone the way of the dinosaurs within the decade. Not only did this not come to pass but high-street betting seems to be in pretty rude health right now.

Still, it goes without saying that all self-respecting bookies are now as with bandwidth as they are with betting slips and bricks and mortar. And if online betting could mushroom from the humblest of origins to global dominance in a little over two decades, who’s to say where we will be in another 20 years? From cyberspace to outer space – you wouldn’t bet against it…